What’s poppin’?
I’m all about good deals, especially with summer here and travel being a lot more expensive. So I’m introducing a new section called Travel Like Vikkie, where I highlight a few travel deals I’m paying attention to — and why you should, too — along with how to book. Let’s get right into it!
Travel Like Vikkie
I’d debated sharing this one, but it’s too good not to pass up: The Liming Bequia in St. Vincent & The Grenadines — a 5-star hotel — has suites for dates as low as $315 per night all. summer. long. It’s one of the most exclusive hotels in the Caribbean — it often costs over $600 per night, or 40k Hyatt points per night — but you can stay in a 990 square foot suite complete with your own private terrace and hot tub. Don’t pass this one up, especially if you want to visit St. Vincent this summer.
Singapore Airlines in business class one-way from NYC to Frankfurt for $1,550 on the Airbus A380. This may not seem like a steal, but this same flight can cost more than $2,500. And you can save even more if you have an Amex Platinum card. That’s because there’s an offer for $300 cash back after spending $1,000 or more — which can bring the cost of this flight down to just $1,250. Considering that Singapore has one of the best business classes in the world (lie-flat bed! dining on demand!), this is an amazing deal.
To really take advantage of this deal, you’ll need to check your Amex Platinum card for the offer and then book your ticket through Amex’s International Airline Program before July 20. This is important! If you don’t book directly through IAP, you won’t get the statement credit. And remember, you need to spend at least $1,000 on your ticket.
Other airlines are included in the offer, including Air France, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Emirates, Etihad, and more. So if there’s a premium economy or business class flight you’ve been looking at, now is the time to book!
If you don’t have an Amex Platinum card ($695 annual fee), you can use my referral link for 150k bonus points (usually 100k), and I’ll earn 30k points if you get approved.
#wheresvikkie
I spent 3 nights over Memorial Day weekend in D.C. for my sister’s wedding. MDW is a notoriously expensive weekend to travel, so I decided to offset the high prices using points. Here’s how I did it:
Cash rates on Amtrak were averaging nearly $500 round-trip, so I used around 12k Amtrak points to book the Silver Star train in Coach to D.C. and Acela business class to NYC. I have an Amtrak card, so I used a lounge pass that comes with it to get into the Metropolitan Lounge in NYC — I’d definitely recommend it.
I stayed at the Motto in Chinatown (the old POD hotel). The hotel was nice and had a gorgeous lobby, but the room was pretty small, and the room itself faced the street. I used a combination of cash (around $350) and 15k Hilton points I’d earned last year. Would I stay at the Motto again? — Probably not. However, the hotel is in a prime location (directly across from Gallery Place station on the GL/RD/YL lines and close to Union Station.
See any deals? Send them my way — I’ll be sure to hat-tip you! And if you like this newsletter format be sure to shoot me a message if you want to see more deals like these!